Chemical characteristics of Siberian boreal forest fire emissions

Abstract:

Smoke emissions from Siberian boreal forest fires exert critical impacts on the aerosol/climate system of subarctic regions and the Arctic. It is, therefore, crucial to assess the ability of such particles to absorb/scatter incoming solar radiation as well as act as cloud condensation nuclei, which is closely linked to the physical and chemical aerosol properties. However, observations of Siberian wildfire emissions are limited, and no systematic database of smoke particle properties is available for this region to date.

As part of this study, ambient aerosol samples were collected during two smoke episodes in Tomsk, Siberia, in the summers of 2012 and 2013. In addition, the chemical composition and optical properties of smoke particles derived from the combustion of typical Siberian fuels, including pine wood and debris, were determined during chamber burn experiments in a large aerosol/combustion chamber under controlled combustion conditions representative of wildfires and prescribed burns. Detailed multi-component characterization of individual particles and bulk properties was accomplished with a suite of techniques, including various types of chromatography, microscopy, spectroscopy, and thermo-optical analysis.

Individual particle analysis by SEM-EDX combined with cluster analysis revealed characteristic smoke structural components and major types of particles, which allowed to discriminate between flaming and smoldering regimes, reflected in specific morphological and chemical microstructure. The physicochemical properties representing the combustion phase (smoldering versus flaming) and the degree of processing (fresh versus aged) were assessed in the ambient aerosol based on the chamber burn results. For instance, some chemical transformation (aging of smoke particles) was noticed over a period of two days in the absence of sun light in the combustion chamber for certain chemical species, while the molecular tracer levoglucosan appeared to be rather stable, and can thus be considered a good marker of Siberian pine wood burning, specifically in the smoldering phase.

The findings from this study show the importance of various factors influencing the chemical and physical properties of smoke particles derived from Siberian biomass burning as a function of combustion conditions.